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India’s proposed Civil Nuclear Liability Bill under attack in Parliament

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment on Forests is examining the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
Bill, 2010 that was introduced in the Lower House on May 7 amid stiff resistance from a united opposition……….. Top officials from the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests were also grilled by the panel on the long-lasting effects of a nuclear accident..

N-bill under attack at Par panel meeting, Business Ghana, : 15th July 2010 The Indian Government’s plans to bring the controversial nuclear liability bill virtually came under all round attack with the opposition BJP and Left leaders Tuesday questioned the need for such a move and demanded that it be withdrawn forthwith. Continue reading

July 16, 2010 Posted by | India, politics | , | Leave a comment

Hypocrisy as Japan seeks to be nuclear power salesman

Japan emphasises that its technology exports are for the peaceful production of nuclear energy.

But as it knows only too well, the plutonium produced in fission reactors can also be used to produce nuclear weapons.

Anxiety mushrooms over Japanese nuclear exports | The Australian,  Rick Wallace,   July 15, 2010 IT’S hard not to draw cynical conclusions about Japan’s decision to pursue sales of nuclear technology overseas. One of the country’s most treasured principles appears to have a price as it hawks nuclear systems to India, the Middle East and perhaps other countries. Continue reading

July 16, 2010 Posted by | Japan, spinbuster | , , , , | Leave a comment

65 years of lies and cover-up about nuclear bomb and radioactivity

When reports of thousands in Hiroshima and Nagasaki afflicted with a strange and horrible new disease emerged, General Groves, at first, called it all a “hoax”  and “propaganda” and speculated that the Japanese had different “blood.”

Secrecy, Cover-ups & Deadly Radiation: On the Birth of the Nuclear Age 65 Years Ago The Nation, Greg Mitchell J uly 14, 2010 While most people trace the dawn of the nuclear era to August 6, 1945, and the dropping of the atomic bomb over the center of Hiroshima, it really began three weeks earlier, in the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico,  with the top-secret Trinity test. Its sixty-fifth anniversary will be marked—or mourned, if you will—this Friday, July 16. . Continue reading

July 15, 2010 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

UK’s Trident nuclear weapons – expensive, unnecessary

“Describing this as a ‘value for money’ review is nonsense – the fundamental question is whether Britain needs a cold war weapons system decades after that conflict ended.

(UK) Nuclear weapon review ‘nonsense’ Morning Star,  14 July 2010, by Will Stone Anti Nuclear campaigners have branded the government’s proposed “value-for-money” review of the multibillion-pound renewal of Trident as nonsense. Continue reading

July 15, 2010 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | , , , , | Leave a comment

Utah’s environment has a win over nuclear wastes

“We’re glad EnergySolutions finally figured out what Utahans have said for two years — that Italy should take care of its own waste,”

Utah firm nixes plan to import Italian nuke waste, Google hosted news, By BROCK VERGAKIS (AP) –15 July 2010, SALT LAKE CITY — EnergySolutions Inc. said Wednesday it is abandoning its plans to dispose of nuclear waste from Italy in Utah’s west desert and instead will try to help open a disposal facility in that country. Continue reading

July 15, 2010 Posted by | USA, wastes | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pyroprocessed plutonium could quickly become nuclear weapon

a country with South Korea’s nuclear expertise could quickly turn pyroprocessed plutonium into weapons

U.S. Wary of South Korea’s Plan to Reuse Nuclear Fuel, By CHOE SANG-HUN New York Times,  July 13, 2010 “……..South Korean engineers are championing a new technology called pyroprocessing, which the Bush administration endorsed. They call it “proliferation-resistant” because the plutonium produced through pyroprocessing is not pure and cannot be used directly for nuclear weapons.
Skeptics say the technology is far more dangerous than leaving the spent fuel intact in storage because a country with South Korea’s nuclear expertise could quickly turn pyroprocessed plutonium into weapons-usable material should it decide to break out of the nonproliferation treaty…….
Washington is wary of South Korea’s motives. Seoul embarked on its short-lived nuclear arms program in the early 1970s when President Richard M. Nixon reduced the number of American troops in South Korea to 40,000 from 60,000. In 2004, South Korea revealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency that its scientists had dabbled in reprocessing and enrichment without first informing the agency. U.S. Wary of South Korea’s Plan to Reuse Nuclear Fuel – NYTimes.com

July 15, 2010 Posted by | South Korea, technology | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear scientist back to Iran

Google hosted news, The Associated Press  15 July 2010, TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian nuclear scientist who disappeared a year ago headed back to Tehran on Wednesday, telling Iranian state media that he was abducted by CIA agents who tried to bribe him into speaking out against his homeland. The U.S. says he was a willing defector who changed his mind………

The Associated Press: AP News in Brief

July 15, 2010 Posted by | Iran, secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , | Leave a comment

St Lawrence Seaway at risk from shipment of old nuclear reactors

the idea of having nuclear waste traveling on Lake Huron, through the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence Seaway is raising concerns among the region’s environmental groups……..

Nuclear waste worries groups, SEAWAY CARGO: Canadian plant awaits OK for its shipping plan, Watertown Daily Times By JAEGUN LEE, JULY 14, 2010, Continue reading

July 15, 2010 Posted by | Canada, wastes | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium price down again

Sellers push uranium spot price down Industrial Fuels and Power,  July 14th, 2010 The spot price for uranium oxide slipped by 25 cents to US$41.50 in the week ended July 12, according to The Ux Consulting Company. TradeTech reported the decrease on July 9 as sellers were prepared to offer lower prices to push sales to completion.

Sellers push uranium spot price down | Industrial Fuels and Power

July 15, 2010 Posted by | general | , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear co-operation deal USA and Australia

(Does the Australian public know anything about this?)

If not opposed by a joint resolution of disapproval or other legislation, then the agreement will be considered approved at the end of this time period.

U.S.-Australia Civilian Nuclear Cooperation: Issues for Congress, East Asia: , 14 July 2010, Mary Beth Nikitin, Bruce Vaughn Continue reading

July 15, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium mining not economic in the long run

Stakeholders need to consider the not-so-obvious long-term costs, as well as the much-touted short-term benefits of permitting uranium development throughout Virginia…….As deposits of economic interest are identified, the people near those deposits will find themselves stakeholders in public policy decisions regarding uranium mining. Who are these stakeholders-to-be?

Who bears the economic and environmental risks of uranium mining?  ALTAVISTA JOURNAL, By Katie Whitehead, July 14, 2010Virginia Uranium Inc. (VUI) and its public relations firm have framed uranium mining in Virginia as an opportunity for billions in benefits Continue reading

July 15, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, Uranium, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Canada’s uranium to India – a recipe for nuclear weapons proliferation

In a contortion worthy of Houdini, Prime Minister Harper claims Canada can prevent a repeat of the 1974 nuclear betrayal because India has solemnly promised to specify which facilities are military or civilian, and to keep them strictly segregated.

But this is akin to keeping a bucket of water divided in half — fissile materials, knowledge, and budgets are notoriously porous, hidden in secrecy, and immune to meaningful inspection or policing.

Canada courts calamity with India nuclear deal Selling Candus in South Asia only heightens local arms race. Straight Goods -, July 13, 2010by Paul McKay Ten days before Canada inked a nuclear sales pact with India at the G20 summit, the Indian government invited global investors to help finance its $70 billion plan to develop 20,000 Megawatts of solar power plants in that sun-rich country by 2022.That followed an official Indian government estimate that its long windy coastlines and interior deserts can host nearly 50,000 Mw of wind generation. Continue reading

July 15, 2010 Posted by | India, weapons and war | , , , , , | Leave a comment

UK govt ignoring public opposition to new Trident nuclear weapons

all the indications are that the will of the people – even including Daily Mail readers this time – is to be ignored yet again. Trident replacement has been excluded from the Strategic Defence Review, which would have forced debate on its actual military value. Instead, a ‘value for money review’ has been hastily cobbled together to give a fig-leaf of legitimacy to the decision to proceed with business as usual.

(UK) So just who does want to replace Trident? Greenpeace UK, by jossc on 13 July 2010. A YouGov poll released today reaffirms what we already knew: a clear majority people simply don’t support government plans to build a ‘like for like’ replacement for the Trident nuclear deterrent.The poll, undertaken on behalf of think tank Chatham House, found that only 29 per cent of the public backed the government’s Trident plans. Amongst opinion formers the level of support fell to a paltry 22 per cent. Continue reading

July 14, 2010 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium mining executive boasted on political upheaval in Australia

‘Policymakers around the world can learn a lesson when considering new taxes to plug a revenue gap or play to local politics,” he said.

Indeed they can, particularly if they note the ousting of a sitting prime minister by his own party.

Big-talking giants may come down with a thud, Sydney Morning Herald, Ian Verrender, July 13, 2010  If the European Union had reservations about the iron ore tie-up between the mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, it no doubt would have been stunned by Tom Albanese’s extraordinary remarks in London last week…….. Continue reading

July 14, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, politics | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

China quietly investing in USA enriched uranium company USEC

Fuel Maker for Reactors Has China as Investor  – NYTimes.com, Matthew Wald, June 2010, A Hong Kong company that is partly owned by the Chinese government has quietly purchased a 5.1 percent stake in the only American-owned provider of enriched uranium for use in civilian nuclear reactors, Continue reading

July 14, 2010 Posted by | politics international, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment